the president and john boehner have not had any phone contact since friday. their staffs are still communicating but still really very little progress, jaime. >> reporter: thank you so much,ed appreciate the report at that early hour there in hawaii. merry christmas. >> reporter: meanwhile some senators are suggesting the only option now to avoid a fiscal cliff is a scaled-back deal to stop tax increases for most americans. we just hear heard heard ed elude to that. we are joined my jaime. what happens if the president and congress fail to reach an agreement on averting this so-called fiscal cliff? >> well, we go over it. you know, maybe the analogy of fiscal cliff that everyone is using might not be perfect because that doesn't end everything. there will be negotiations afterwards. in fact republicans who think that we are going overlook to the debt ceiling hike that will have to happen some time in the beginning of next year, perhaps at the end of january, or early february, at the point where negotiations will really pick up again, because they'll have som